2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Introduction The tenth edition of the annual Macdonald & Company Middle East Rewards and Attitudes Survey is the most comprehensive survey of its type undertaken for the property sector in the Middle East and North Africa region. The survey which reaches a diverse spectrum of participants across the GCC and beyond, is run from December 2016 to March 2017 to coincide with the other Macdonald & Company Surveys covering the UK, Europe, and Asia. We would like to thank all of the participants who completed the Survey this year. There are comprehensive statistics on current salaries, bonuses and employment benefits in addition to information on broader employment issues and attitudes which are very relevant to employers and employees alike. The Executive Summary sets out the key findings. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to 100. Foreword We are currently experiencing a cautious employment market across the GCC region with few companies expanding aggressively and some more senior level redundancies being made. However, sentiment remains cautiously optimistic for the year ahead. Oil prices remain low – trading at around $50 per barrel as I write this. OPEC’s decision to cut production at the end of 2016 gave short term gains but recently Brent crude closed at its lowest level this year, erasing all of the gains since OPEC started to cut production. Much of the business activity in the GCC is driven by government spending and large new real estate projects continue to be launched, such as the Jumeirah Central project in Dubai. VAT looks set to be launched in the UAE in early 2018 however finer details of how this will be implemented and governed remains to be seen. Industry participants are predicting economies such as Dubai will prove to be resilient as they move yet further away from their reliance upon oil and continue to become a global business hub. EXPO 2020 is now only 3 years away and infrastructure and projects relating to this are beginning to come out of the ground and take shape. Dubai is a very versatile economy with a growing population and hospitality offering although tourism has been affected over the past year, due to the very strong dollar making Dubai an expensive destination. The result of BREXIT in the UK has meant the sterling has dropped significantly over the past year but news of another general
The 2017 RICS and Macdonald & Company Middle East Rewards & Attitudes Survey
election taking place in the UK in June has meant the currency has rallied slightly and looks likely to continue to do so. The overall findings of the 2017 salary survey show that much remains unchanged from last year with the annual average salary being AED 46,148 (a slight increase on AED 44,392 last year) and the average salary increase being 9.9% (a slight drop from 10.2% last year). A lower percentage of respondents are expecting sentiment to decrease compared to last year and salary levels and responsibility remain the key drivers in respondents job satisfaction levels. Demand remains strong for high quality, qualified candidates from within the GCC region and abroad with the valuations and development sectors among the most competitive. Arabic speakers are still very much in demand and we are seeing increased demand for candidates who can travel easily across the GCC region for work purposes. The UAE remains a choice destination for many real estate professionals from across the globe and we feel that whilst 2017 maybe a flat year, the medium to long term outlook is strong. We look forward to a successful 2017.
Lara Hall, Director, Macdonald & Company, May 2017 For further information or analysis please contact: info@macdonaldandcompany.com A comprehensive salary benchmarking service tailor made to individual client’s needs is also available. An online statistics package for the 2017 survey, as well as access to the two previous annual surveys, is available at a cost of US $1199. In addition to the MENA region, Macdonald & Company undertake salary surveys for UK and Asia Pacific. All reports are available at www.macdonaldandcompany.com For the sixth year, the results have been collated and analysed by BluSky Research (a research trading name of BluSky Marketing Limited – www.bluskymarketing.com).
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KEY FINDINGS
are anticipating an improvement in economic activity (+7%*)
18% of respondents believe that economic activity will decrease (down from 33% last year*)
of respondents received a base salary increase (-8%*)
Of the 43% who received an increase the average was 9.9% (-0.3%*)
is the average monthly salary for a Real Estate professional in the Middle East (+AED 1,756*)
45% (versus 46%*) of all respondents secured an average annual bonus of AED 83,623 (-AED 875*)
44
*Versus 2016 survey
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are fairly or very satisfied with their current employment
Better salary continues to be the most important job aspect
of respondents believe their organisation will increase headcount in 2017 (-3%*)
More respondents work in Dubai than any other location (52%)
only 15% of repondents are seriously considering returning to their country of origin
of respondents consider the GCC region to be a preferred location for financial reasons (+3%*)
Middle East East Rewards Rewards & & Attitudes Attitudes Survey The 2017 RICS and Macdonald & Company Middle 4 Survey
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RESEARCH SAMPLE PROFILE
1,439
Now in its tenth year, the survey remains the most credible and respected of its kind in the Middle East Property Sector. With a sample size of 553 the survey response rate remains robust.
1,411
1,400 1,200
1,127 1,058
1,000
1,012
800 600
553
400 200
2012
2012/13
2014
2015
2016
2017
-45.4% 2016 to 2017 -50.9% 2015 to 2017
60%
40%
38%
2017 2016 2015
38%
43%
50%
18%
18%
17%
23%
16%
18%
16%
4%
4%
10%
4%
20%
19%
30% 23%
How many years’ experience do you have in your discipline? The general level of years of experience of the sample has seen an increase in % of senior respondents (61% with 16 years plus experience, up from 56% in 2016).
0% Up to 4yrs
5-10yrs
11-15yrs
16-20yrs
Over 21yrs
100%
Those with between 0 to 2 years’ experience working in the Middle East has dropped from 10% to 7% in 2017.
80%
78%
77%
90% 77%
How long have you worked in the Middle East Region? 78% of the survey respondents have 5 or more years’ experience working in the Middle East, 1% more than last year.
2017 2016 2015
70% 60% 50% 40% 30%
0%
6
0-1Year
1-2yrs
2-3yrs
3-4yrs
7%
7%
6%
6%
6%
3%
4%
5%
5%
3%
7%
10%
5%
20%
5 yrs+
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RESEARCH SAMPLE PROFILE
8%
From which of these regions do you originate (Ethnicity)? Respondents who originate from the Middle East (Non GCC) account for 13% of the total respondents (down 1% from last year), while those from UK/Europe remain one of the largest groups with 40% (up from 38%).
Africa/ South Africa
8% 7% 5% 5%
Americas
4% 24%
27% 4% 4%
Australasia 3% 2% 2%
GCC
Those who originate from Asia/Far East have decreased by 3% this year.
2017 2016 2015
27%
Asia/Far East
2% 13%
Middle East (Non GCC)
14% 15% 40% 38%
UK/Europe
40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
52%
Dubai
Where is your normal place of work? Those who presently work in Dubai represent over half of respondents to the survey, increasing this year to 52% from 43% last year. Numbers working in Qatar have declined from 16% in 2016 to 12% this year. Those in Abu Dhabi remain the same as last year at 13%, while those working in Saudi Arabia have increased slightly to 9% from 8% last year.
43% 41% 13%
Abu Dhabi
13% 14% 12%
Qatar
16% 17% 9%
Saudi Arabia
8% 9% 1%
Oman
2017 2016 2015
2% 2% 2%
Bahrain
2% 2% 2%
Egypt
2% 2% 1%
Kuwait
1% 1% 1%
Other Emirates
1% 1% 6%
Other
9% 10% 20%
41%
50%
30%
50%
60%
2017 2016 2015
40%
23%
23%
1%
1%
0%
1%
1%
2%
1%
2%
1%
6%
6%
5%
6% 4%
4%
4% 2% 0%
6%
13%
20%
18%
19%
23%
30%
10%
The 2017 RICS and Macdonald & Company Middle East Rewards & Attitudes Survey
40%
40%
What is the main activity of the organisation? Those working in consultancy (48%, up from 40%), contractor (13%, down from 18%) or developer/property company (23%, equal to last year) continue to provide the majority of responses (84% in total, up slightly from 81% in 2016) to this year’s survey.
10%
48%
0%
Consultancy
Contractor
Developer/ Property Company
Facilities Financial Management Institution/ Fund/ Asset Manager
Government
Occupier
Education
Non-profit making organisation
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RESEARCH SAMPLE PROFILE
Academic Analyst/Research Architect Asset/Property Manager Business Development Management CEO/MD/Head CFO/Financial Director/Controller Claims & Dispute Resolution Construction Management Corporate Property Consultancy Design Management Development Management Energy Engineering Services Management Facilities Management Financial/Real Estate Analyst Fund Management General Practice Health and Safety Interior Design Landlord & Tenant Landscape Architect Office Agent Urban Design / Masterplanning Property Asset Management Project Management Quantity Surveying Residential Agent/Sales/Leasing Residential Development Retail Agent/Leasing Valuation Other
2016 NO.
2016 %
2017 NO.
2017 %
4 21 35 27 33 51 34 19 45 13 14 50 17 32 41 27 16 12 22 8 4 5 7 14 30 97 116 9 9 11 39 66
0% 2% 4% 3% 4% 5% 4% 2% 5% 1% 2% 5% 2% 3% 4% 3% 2% 1% 2% 1% 0% 1% 1% 2% 3% 10% 13% 1% 1% 1% 4% 7%
3 9 17 14 13 31 7 17 57 12 11 22 8 10 21 14 5 5 4 4 5 0 2 5 20 50 85 6 6 12 23 19
1% 2% 3% 3% 2% 6% 1% 3% 10% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% 4% 3% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 0% 0% 1% 4% 9% 15% 1% 1% 2% 4% 3%
AVERAGE MIDDLE EAST REAL ESTATE SALARY & BONUSES
AED 50,000
What is your current monthly base salary? (excluding all benefits such as bonuses, car etc). The average base salary of a Real Estate professional in the Middle East is AED 46,148 per month, up by AED 1,756 or up 4.0% from last year.
AED 44,559
AED 44,392
2015
2016
AED 46,148
AED 40,000
AED 30,000
AED 20,000
AED 10,000
AED 0
2017
+4.0% 2016 to 2017 +3.6% 2015 to 2017
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What change if any was made to your Monthly Base Salary at your last pay review? 43% of respondents secured a base salary increase (down from 51% last year), while 3% received a salary reduction (equal to last year). 54% of respondents did not see a change in their annual salary (up from 47% last year).
AED 20,000
AED 60,400
AED 60,342
AED 59,484 AED 46,996
AED 49,024 AED 36,138
AED 37,046 AED 28,684
AED 27,256
AED 22,482
AED 30,000
AED 22,177
AED 40,000
AED 36,104
AED 50,000
AED 21,228
Respondents with under 10 years’ experience have seen an increase in their respective categories. Those with between 5-10 years’ experience have seen an increase of 27.6% (up from AED 22,482 to AED 28,684 in 2017), while those with up to 4 years’ experience have seen an increase of 10.0% (up from AED 20,176 to AED 22,177 in 2017).
2017 2016 2015
AED 60,000
AED 20,176
Salary at last review by years’ experience within discipline Those respondents with over 21 years’ experience continue to earn the highest average base monthly salary at AED 60,342 (down from AED 60,400 in 2016).
AED 49,292
AVERAGE MIDDLE EAST REAL ESTATE SALARY & BONUSES
AED 10,000
AED 0
Up to 4yrs
5-10yrs
11-15yrs
16-20yrs
Over 21yrs
Reduced 3% (+1%)
Up not disclosed 1% (-2%)
Up by 15%+ 6% (-2%) Up by 11-15% 5% (=) Up by 6-10% 12% (-2%)
Unchanged 54% (+7%)
Up by ≤5% 19% (-1%)
12% 11.2%
If your salary was increased, please indicate % increase? The average salary increase has fallen slightly since 2016, down from 10.2% to 9.9% in 2017. The % of respondents who have secured an annual salary increase has decreased from 51% in 2016 to 43% in 2017.
10.2%
9.9%
10%
8%
6% 57%
43%
51%
4%
2%
0%
The 2017 RICS and Macdonald & Company Middle East Rewards & Attitudes Survey
2015
2016
2017
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AVERAGE MIDDLE EAST REAL ESTATE SALARY & BONUSES
AVERAGE SALARY INCREASE
Total Dubai Abu Dhabi Qatar Saudi Arabia Oman Bahrain Egypt Kuwait Other
9.9% 9.6% 6.4% 9.0% 16.5% 15.0% 6.7% 11.0% 5.8% 9.4%
25.6%
If your salary was increased, please indicate % increase?
18.4%
8%
9.9%
12%
10.4%
14.6%
21.3%
12.6%
16%
16.4%
20.0%
14.2%
15.1%
2017 2016
20%
7.4%
Respondents whose annual base salaries were increased following an annual pay review received an average of 6.2%.
24%
6.2%
If your salary was increased please indicate % INCREASE. At 25.6%, moving job / new employer led to the largest increase to base salary.
23.5%
26%
4%
0% Annual Pay Review
Promotion
Organisational
Achieving
Moving Job/
Restructure
Following
Professional
New Employer
by Employer
Counter Offer Attempted
Qualification
Other
Resignation
AED 200K Plus 5% (=) AED 90K - AED 199.9K 9% (=)
What was the approximate value of your annual bonus (or bonuses) over the last 12 months? 45% of the survey respondents received a bonus (down from 46% in 2016), while 55% received no bonus whatsoever (up from 54% last year). The average annual bonus of a Real Estate professional in the Middle East is AED 83,623 (down from AED 84,498 last year).
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AED 35K - AED 89.9K 14% (=)
AED 20K - AED 34.9K 9% (=) Nil 55% (+1%)
Up to AED 19.9K 7% (-1%)
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MARKET ATTITUDES
AED 700,000
AED 600,000
What was the approximate value of your salary, bonus and additional remuneration received (e.g. commission & performance related pay) over the last 12 months (annualised)? The total reward received by Real Estate professionals increased by 4.2% to AED 700,187 year on year.
AED 52,827
AED 54,925
AED 84,103
AED 84,498
AED 534,709
AED 532,708
AED 47,854
AED 98,560
AED 500,000
AED 400,000
AED 300,000
AED 200,000
The total reward includes the annualised salary, average annual bonus (or bonuses) and the average additional remuneration received (e.g. commission & performance related bonus) last year.
AED 553,773
AED 100,000
AED 0
2015
2016
2017
82% 79% 81%
Salary
How important are each of the following to you in your job? Salary continues to be the most important factor when it comes to job satisfaction. This is followed by job security at 71% (+2%), responsibility at 69% (-3%) and working environment at 67% (-2%).
71% 69%
Job security 66%
69% 72% 72%
Responsibility
67% 69% 69%
Working environment
66%
Management style
66% 66% 68%
Range of Interesting work
59% 61% 61% 50%
Training/Development
53%
57%
42% 44% 46%
Location 32%
Range of clients
32%
36%
2017 2016 2015
26% 26% 28%
Latest technology 21%
Travel opportunities
24% 23%
0%
How satisfied overall are you with your current job? The majority of survey participants (73%, down 2% versus last year) are fairly or very satisfied with their current employment.
71%
63%
Career progression
Not very 22% (+5%)
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Not at all 5% (-3%)
Very 19% (-3%)
5% say that they are not at all satisfied (down from 8% last year).
Fairly 54% (+1%)
The 2017 RICS and Macdonald & Company Middle East Rewards & Attitudes Survey
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MARKET ATTITUDES
Not Applicable 12% (+2%)
Are you considering returning home to the UK, Europe, US, Africa, Asia or Australasia? Only 15% of the survey respondents (equal to last year), who are in a position to return home, are very likely to return to their country of origin.
Very Likely 15% (=)
Possible 33% (-4%)
Unlikely 40% (+2%)
Family Reasons 8% (+1%)
Do you still consider the GCC region to be a preferred location for? 59% of the survey respondents consider the GCC region to be a preferred location for “financial reasons” (up from 56% last year). While 32% (down from 35% last year) cited “employment opportunities and career progression” as a consideration.
Do you expect your organisation to increase headcount in 2017? Just under half of respondents (48%) believe their organisation will increase headcount in 2017, with 41% of respondents expecting their organisation to modestly increase headcount and 7% expecting a significant increase in headcount in 2017.
I am not sure 14% (+2%)
No 38% (-1%)
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Employment opportunities and career progression 32% (-3%)
Financial Reasons 59% (+3%)
Yes, significantly 7% (-2%)
Yes, modestly 41% (-1%)
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MARKET ATTITUDES
Other 4% (+1%)
At what level/role do you expect your company to hire this year? Of the respondents who expected their organisation to increase headcount in 2017, 58% believe their company will hire qualified or experienced professionals (up 5% from last year), while 23% anticipate their company hiring at graduate and entry level roles this year (down 5% from last year).
Graduates/ entry level roles 23% (-5%)
Director level/ senior appointments 13% (-2%)
88%
Qualified or experienced professionals 58% (+5%)
Top 5 Positive Professional Activities
Top 5 Negative Professional Activities
80%
22%
22%
Quantity Surveying
Facilities Management
30%
23%
30%
40%
25%
44%
41%
50% Financial/Real Estate Analyst
50%
20%
10%
60%
Asset/Property Manager
55% 2017 2016 2015
50%
48%
40%
40%
30%
Design Management
CEO/MD/Head
Construction Management
Business Development Management
0%
Those working as CEO/MD/Heads are the least confident, with 30% anticipating a decrease in economic activity during 2017.
In your chosen professional activity, do you anticipate economic activity in the next 12 months to increase, decrease or remain unchanged? Overall positive sentiment has improved, with 34% of respondents anticipating economic activity will increase (up from 27% last year), while 18% believe it will decrease (down from 33%). However nearly half of respondents (48%) believe economic activity will remain unchanged over the next 12 months.
50%
60%
Facilities Management
70%
Analyst/Research
In your chosen professional activity, do you anticipate economic activity in the next 12 months to increase, decrease or remain unchanged? Analysts/Research are the most positive about the economic outlook in the next 12 months with 88% anticipating an increase in economic activity during 2017. This is followed by Facilities Management (50%) and Financial/Real Estate Analysts (50%).
34%
35%
33%
27%
18%
20% 10% 10%
0% Increase
The 2017 RICS and Macdonald & Company Middle East Rewards & Attitudes Survey
Decrease
Remain Unchanged
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Macdonald & Company is the leading professional recruitment consultancy for the real estate and built environment sectors. Established in 1994 and headquartered in the UK, we apply local knowledge with true global connection through our offices in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Our specialist teams act for every class of organisation owning, occupying, financing or advising on property, construction and engineering – developers, investors, institutions, funds, banks, consultancies and contractors. We are the preferred recruitment partner of RICS - the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Macdonald & Company is a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange quoted Prime People Plc. People make the difference. We connect you to that difference.
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